2011 - A Year of Hope and Love (and Money)

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

2011 - A Year of Hope and Love (and Money)

As OL regulars know, I have been on a study path of Internet marketing for a while now. One of the IM people I admire is Frank Kern. Oh, he has his hype and covert persuasion stuff, and he tells a smooth slick story, but I think he has a good, simple take on things at times that is refreshing. So I always like to check him out when I can.

Here is a video he just now put up called "State of the Internet."

State of the Internet

I can't embed it (at least without uploading a video player to OL's server and streaming the thing myself from Amazon's sw3 service, which isn't really Kosher ), so you have to go to his site to see it. Sorry.

Frank discusses, in the most rational, practical and simple way I have observed so far, how to face the economic crisis and come out with a lot of money. It's so simple, it hurts. I'll go ahead and spoil the suspense and say what it is.

According to Frank Kern (and myself, since I believe he is right), the wealth in society is not vanishing. It is being transferred. There is simply too much wealth that has been--and is being--produced for true worldwide scarcity to hit, at least for many years.

The doomsayers don't agree, but if you look around, there's oodles of stuff being produced every day. And think about this. If the government is printing more and more money, but it is not circulating in the exonomy, that means some people have it. How can it be otherwise?

Since these comments are for the OL audience, let me mention an Objectivist theme for a second. It is true that an Atlas Shrugged-like collapse is not out of the question, especially when wealth vanishes because the producers stop producing, but I don't believe that, economically, we are anywhere near a shut down. And I do believe it is a good thing to fight to get the government's nose out of it's current socialist leanings and reduce its size without going back to the former conservative-supported intervention in other countries. There's a lot of work to do. But that is not the issue here.

The point right now is how are you going to feed your family and have a healthy economic future in the coming economic woes?

The answer is simple.

Since--currently--wealth is being transferred, not evaporated, Frank advises us to simply stop selling to people who no longer have money and start selling to the people who are getting it.

He talks about some strategies for finding out who these people are and how to sell to them. His discussion of providing them with stuff they find of more value than the money they pay you could almost be taken out of Objectivist literature. He also tells you to exercise your God-given right to "not do stupid shit" like many big companies are doing. And, miracle of miracles, there is no sales message at the end.

It's just an information and inspiration video (a little over a half-an-hour) with well wishes for prosperity for all.

Pay special attention to the end, where Frank Googled "hate," "fear," "hope" and "love" and showed the numbers. They make for a very good 2011, indeed. One filled with hope and love.

And, if you do it right, lots of money.

May those of you who are interested take Frank's message to heart and prosper. I certainly intend to.

Michael

[Brant Gaede]

Transferred to whom?

--Brant

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Brant,

I would start with people at companies that are in bed with the government. (Not just in the USA.)

And financial institutions that are in bed with the government.

And class action legal firms, especially ones that are in bed with the government.

And people receiving government money.

And...

And...

And...

China and Saudi Arabia...

There's plenty more.

Need I go on?

But Frank advises you to check market sources and notice who's buying stuff--especially premium stuff. People who buy high-priced stuff are usually the ones with the money.

Michael

[Brant Gaede]

It was a moral question.

--Brant

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Brant,

Moral or immoral, if your own money is being transferred to someone else without your consent, the common sense thing to do is go get it back. That's not exactly where Frank Kern is at, but that is where I'm at.

Also, this raises another question.

I once used to produce a protest singer in Brazil named Geraldo Vandré. We were discussing government money and I told him of my decision to not accept it any longer, which was one of the reasons I left the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra. He then said something to me that has stayed in the back of my mind ever since. The following is an exact quote as best I remember. The "maestro" thing is that I used to be one, so this is what he called me back then.

He said, "That's wrong, Maestro. You have to go get the government's money. You have to get it and spend it. Spend all of it. Spend it on beautiful good things before they spend it on crap."

There's an element of truth to that I could not deny.

Since then, that thought has followed me even as I have never lost my distaste for taking government money. I have been the beneficiary of practically nothing government-wise over the years. I have not sold anything to the government and I have not taken any handouts (from Brazilian or USA governments). Geraldo's comment, like a ghost, has arisen unbidden in my mind with each choice. And there have been many.

Now we have the current mess and I'm not so sure my previous attitude is going to be doable if I want to get done the things I need to get done in life. I'm in my late 50's and running out of time for my chance to grab the big brass ring.

So the trick, for me at least, is to find where the money transfer is taking place in the economy, try to stand somewhere nearby and set up a marketing thing where some of that wealth comes into my account. But my moral problem is similar to the one I had before. I used to walk the streets of São Paulo at night--literally walk around to work through the inner conflict. I would look at taxi drivers and shop owners and realize that they were paying my orchestra salary. Then I would wonder if they would even appreciate a concert, much less go to one, It made me feel like a parasite.

Now, as I am setting up my marketing thing for the high inflation times that are coming, I cannot ignore the fact that this transfer is only happening because the money is being siphoned off from the accounts of countess good, hard-working individuals. Frankly, I don't want that kind of money. But I don't see much of an alternative for the future. It's either work with that or abandon my dreams.

So here is where I have arrived at morally. I agree with Geraldo that there is a practical good (and a very big one) in using money that government people, or those in bed with the government, would otherwise use for "stupid shit" (to use Frank Kern's term). I, also, now refuse to take unearned guilt for what the government is doing. I don't agree with it and if there were other options available for where I am aimed at, I would take them. (I still might if I find one.)

So I will work within the context of where I am at right now. But I will not blank out reality and try to ignore the fact that the source of this money is tainted according to my values.

What to do?

Basically, as the project unfolds, I intend to be a lot more charitable than I already am--especially in providing education and training to promising struggling people. But there are weak folks, too, that need a hand up. I can't do anything short-term about who the government scams, but I can do something about what I see in front of me. So I will use a "pay it forward" kind of thinking.

Is this the best solution? I don't know. The whole thing gives me a bad taste in my mouth. But that's the best I can come up with for now.

Michael

[Selene]

Michael:

Well put.

I have always found it to be anachronistic when I have argued with the political left when they throw the selfish argument at your face.

Thankfully, as several of us on OL have commented on previously, one of Ayn's brilliant breakthroughs is the concept of the sanction of the victim.

I, personally, get a great deal of pleasure helping people better themselves, be it emotionally or physically. I find that the altruistic left does not help individuals, but

they preach that they help people!

Recent studies have confirmed that the left is the least charitable group when compared to other groups. This disparity holds across geography and income levels.

In fact, two similarly situated individuals or families earning the same amounts of money produced the following dramatic fact...the left person/family gave one tenth or less than the "right wing," conservative or christian individual/family.

Thanks to Ayn's concept, I have never been stymied by the you're just selfish crap.

The issue that you raise is difficult, but your current choice makes good sense to me.

Adam

[Brant Gaede]

In an even broader context all money is tainted one way or another. So is gold. Slaves have mined a lot of it and died doing so. It's the work itself that can filter out the moral impurity. If it gets too bad one must out of psychological, moral or existential compulsion go on strike. We are a long ways from that but going on strike has always existed sub rosa as someone not choosing a certain career for the rules or regulations or working for one month earning enough for the rest of the year and stopping til then, etc. I've been forced into Medicare. I just spent a month deciding not to pay $6500/year on a Medigap policy that covers the 20% of costs I will be on the hook for if I come down with something serious. I went at least 15 years with no insurance at all prior to my 65th birthday for two main reasons: I couldn't buy decent insurance because the states of New Jersey and Arizona larded up any policy I could buy with coverage I did not want and I found that if you don't have to pay the doctor you're more likely to acquiesce to unneeded and undesired procedures, especially surgery. All this is out of the context of government driving up the cost of medicine with its regulations and spending and subsidizing of third-party paying starting in WWII. I am structuring my life so no one will ever sue me because of lack of attachable assets. I know how to work so my wages cannot be garnished because the wages won't officially exist. No need to declare bankruptcy if medical costs drive me into ostensible poverty. And I've a few more tricks up my sleeve. For instance if my income starts ramping up I'll move to a no-income tax state. If things get really bad and I'm reduced to misery and poverty, I'll simply kill myself.

Like Ayn Rand, and most people, I've been a fool for the state. Once I even went to war for it and almost got my head shot off. Leviathan cannot be reformed but it can be sucked dry and it can consume itself. Ayn Rand could not prevent a socialist America, but a socialist-fascist America cannot afford itself. It's in a condition of fulmination right now. What is needed is the moral imperative of individual rights, not a morality of rational self interest, as the primary focus for those who wish to wrestle with the monster. Until Shayne came along I did not clearly understand this nor did I understand just how anti-individualism Rand actually was because of all her window-dressing.

--Brant

we all fight the state one way or another--how much and how well is the question

[Selene]

Brant:

Agreed. I have been torn by much of this also.

I did not get the opportunity to almost get my brains blown out, but I did get channeled into teaching as an allegedly honorable way around that "opportunity."

Structurally placed myself in similar ways as you have.

I also agree with you about that aspect of Shayne's input here.

I have two children. One is out and about and the other is in her final year to being out and about.

As the Moody Blues opined in the Story of Your Eyes ..."I am frightened for your children..."

I've been thinking about our fortune

And I've decided that we're really not to blame

For the love that's deep inside us now

Is still the same.

And the sound we make together

Is the music to the story in your eyes

It's been shining down upon me now

I realise.

Listen to the tide slowly turning,

Wash all our heartaches away.

We're part of the fire that is burning

And from the ashes we can build for another day

But I'm frightened for your children

And the life that we are living is in vain

And the sunshine we've been waiting for

Will turn to rain.

When the final line is over

And it's certain that the curtain's gonna fall

I can hide inside your sweet innocent love

For evermore

Listen to the tide slowly turning,

Wash all our heartaches away.

We're part of the fire that is burning

And from the ashes we can build for another day

But I'm frightened for your children

And the life that we are living is in vain

And the sunshine we've been waiting for

Will turn to rain.

Great recording with a great piano and possibly one of the greatest album covers ever.

Adam

with respects to Brant

[Mikee]

In an even broader context all money is tainted one way or another. So is gold. Slaves have mined a lot of it and died doing so. It's the work itself that can filter out the moral impurity. If it gets too bad one must out of psychological, moral or existential compulsion go on strike. We are a long ways from that but going on strike has always existed sub rosa as someone not choosing a certain career for the rules or regulations or working for one month earning enough for the rest of the year and stopping til then, etc. I've been forced into Medicare. I just spent a month deciding not to pay $6500/year on a Medigap policy that covers the 20% of costs I will be on the hook for if I come down with something serious. I went at least 15 years with no insurance at all prior to my 65th birthday for two main reasons: I couldn't buy decent insurance because the states of New Jersey and Arizona larded up any policy I could buy with coverage I did not want and I found that if you don't have to pay the doctor you're more likely to acquiesce to unneeded and undesired procedures, especially surgery. All this is out of the context of government driving up the cost of medicine with its regulations and spending and subsidizing of third-party paying starting in WWII. I am structuring my life so no one will ever sue me because of lack of attachable assets. I know how to work so my wages cannot be garnished because the wages won't officially exist. No need to declare bankruptcy if medical costs drive me into ostensible poverty. And I've a few more tricks up my sleeve. For instance if my income starts ramping up I'll move to a no-income tax state. If things get really bad and I'm reduced to misery and poverty, I'll simply kill myself.

Like Ayn Rand, and most people, I've been a fool for the state. Once I even went to war for it and almost got my head shot off. Leviathan cannot be reformed but it can be sucked dry and it can consume itself. Ayn Rand could not prevent a socialist America, but a socialist-fascist America cannot afford itself. It's in a condition of fulmination right now. What is needed is the moral imperative of individual rights, not a morality of rational self interest, as the primary focus for those who wish to wrestle with the monster. Until Shayne came along I did not clearly understand this nor did I understand just how anti-individualism Rand actually was because of all her window-dressing.

--Brant

we all fight the state one way or another--how much and how well is the question

Brant,

I agree about the present grim outlook. What makes me angry is that it's so unnecessary. Huge capital, a worldwide marketplace, millions of highly skilled workers, the best science and technology in the history of Man, and the manipulations of looters have caused it all to become almost unworkable.

I disagree that Ayn Rand was wrong. Reason and rational self-interest created the concept of individual rights. There are no unearned values, no free lunch. There are very few honest men in politics, that is the problem. We need to create a culture of honest men. Unadulterated truthfulness should be a absolute prerequisite for serving in the government in any capacity. Any citizen should be able to challenge an elected official on any statement of fact, if they are found guilty of perjuring themselves they are disqualified from that office. They are liars, one and all. We have the technology now to record every word they say and hold them to account. The constitution should be amended to add the requirement of absolute truthfulness to everyone who takes the oath of office to serve in the government.

I wish you well Brant. You are one of my favorite people here and I thank the fortunes of life that you were not killed. Thank you for your service to the great idea of this country. It ain't over 'til it's over.

Mike Erickson

[Brant Gaede]

I hope no one is getting the idea I'm suicidal. I'm so far from that it might as well be on Mars.

--Brant

too tough for my own good

[Mikee]

I hope no one is getting the idea I'm suicidal. I'm so far from that it might as well be on Mars.

--Brant

too tough for my own good

Good to know.

Mike

(in for the long haul)

[Mikee]

Brant:

Agreed. I have been torn by much of this also.

I did not get the opportunity to almost get my brains blown out, but I did get channeled into teaching as an allegedly honorable way around that "opportunity."

Structurally placed myself in similar ways as you have.

I also agree with you about that aspect of Shayne's input here.

I have two children. One is out and about and the other is in her final year to being out and about.

As the Moody Blues opined in the Story of Your Eyes ..."I am frightened for your children..."

I've been thinking about our fortune

And I've decided that we're really not to blame

For the love that's deep inside us now

Is still the same.

And the sound we make together

Is the music to the story in your eyes

It's been shining down upon me now

I realise.

Listen to the tide slowly turning,

Wash all our heartaches away.

We're part of the fire that is burning

And from the ashes we can build for another day

But I'm frightened for your children

And the life that we are living is in vain

And the sunshine we've been waiting for

Will turn to rain.

When the final line is over

And it's certain that the curtain's gonna fall

I can hide inside your sweet innocent love

For evermore

Listen to the tide slowly turning,

Wash all our heartaches away.

We're part of the fire that is burning

And from the ashes we can build for another day

But I'm frightened for your children

And the life that we are living is in vain

And the sunshine we've been waiting for

Will turn to rain.

Great recording with a great piano and possibly one of the greatest album covers ever.

Adam

with respects to Brant

Great song and lyrics. Haven't listened to Moody Blues since they were my favorite when I was in the Navy (67-71). I was an Ayn Rand "nut" then, annoyed all of my shipmates with "CtUI" and "VS". A new PO1 came on board and told me "I've heard about you, you're some kind of sea lawyer".

[Selene]

Mike:

Thanks.

My favorite group of all time. Saw them live from the third row at Jones Beach and was basically deaf for about two hours after the concert!

Thank you for your service.

You should listen to them again because their music is still topical. You just have to use a different definition of greed.

Adam